Harrison s



(No Model.)

BOX' COUCH.

Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

FFICE.

HARRISON S. MARTIN AND JOHN XV. HQUOIIENS, OF \VASHING"ON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

BOX-COUCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.

581,664, dated April 27, 1897.

Application filed March 4, 1896. Serial No. 581,806. (No model.)

To all whont it may concern.-

Be it known that we, HARRISON S. MAR- TIN and J OHN W. HoUcHENs, citizens of the United States, residing at lVashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Box- Couches; and we do hereby declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in what are known to the trade as box-couches, which, as is well known, is an article of furniture on the couch style and adapted to serve as such, and, being made hollow, is likewise adapted to serve as a box or receptacle for wearing-apparel, bcdclothes, to.

The couch as commonlyconstructed is composed of a lower box portion, to which is hinged at its rear side a lid or cover, the upper side of said lid and the sides and ends of the box being upholstered in any desired style, so as to give an ornamental appearance and serve the useful functions of a couch.

One of the strongest objections to the use of the box-couch is the amount of labor required for raising the lid or cover in order that access may be had to the interior of the box, and while this raising of the lid or cover was comparatively easy for a matured person in good health, yet such was not the case with children or invalid adults. In order to overcome this objection, springs have been devised for automatically raising the lid when the same is released; but such construction also has its disadvantages in that it necessarily required the presence of a catch of some character to retain the lid in a closed position against the tension of the spring, and, furthermore, if the spring be strong enough to raise the lid a commensurate amount of strength would be required to close the lid and in so doing overcome the tension of the spring.

The objects, therefore, of our invention are to provide a spring-operated mechanism of simple and cheap construction the same being adapted to elevate the lid so as to give access to the box, to accomplish which it is only necessary to give said lid an initial start, to so construct the mechanism as to adapt the springs employed for operating the same to serve the additional function of retaining the lid closed, thus reducing the cost of the couch by avoiding the necessity of employing a catch for this purpose, and also rendering the raising of the lid easier.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of a box-couch embodying my invention, the lid being shown as raised. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional View of the same, the lid being shown lowered. Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the same construction or arrangement, the lid being shown open. Fig. 4 is a similar view, the lid being shown closed, of a modified construction. Fig. 5 is a similar view of a similar construction, the lid being shown open.

Like numerals indicate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The lower or box portion 1 of the couch, as well as the upper or lid portion 2 thereof, may be constructed in any style and upholstered in any manner desired, these two portions being hinged at their rear edges in any ordinary manner.

e will proceed to describe our preferred construction of mechanism and will call attention to the fact that it is thought to be essential that these mechanisms will be duplicated at opposite ends of the box-conch.

Referring, therefore, to Figs. 1 and 2, itwill be seen that we secure to the inner sides of the end walls of the box portion 1 of the couch horizontally-disposed wear-tracks 4:, the same preferably being formed of light an gle-iron of inverted-L shape in cross-section. Above these wear-tracks we secure to the under side of the lid or cover 2 plates 5, from which depend short posts 6, at whose lower ends are pivotally connected, as at 7, levers 8. At the free ends of these levers we journal on transverse bearing-pins 9 small rollers 10, designed to travel upon the wear-tracks 4 as the lid or cover is raised or lowered. Substantially in line with the bearing-pins 9 are screw-eyes 11, which are attached to the back wall of the box 1, or it may be to the back Wall of the lid or cover 2, and connected to these eyes and to the bearing-pins 9 are coiled springs 12.

It will be seen that the points of connection of the two springs are so near in line with the pivotal point of the lever 8 that when the lid or cover is closed the tension of the spring is exerted substantially parallel to said lever, and hence the tension of said springis nullified.

In order to raise the lid, it is simply necessary to give the same an initial upward start, when the spring begins to act and by its contraction draw the lever more nearly to a vertical position, the roller of the spring moving over the wear-track, so as to avoid friction as far as possible.

The spring may be made sufficiently strong to do the entire lifting of the lid or cover when once set in operation or to simply aid in its raising. The cover having been raised, as shownin Fig. 1, it is'held in that position by the spring. WVhen the cover is raised, the spring is not distended to any very great degree, or, in other words, is not exerting its greatest force, so that its entire force is not required to be overcome by the initial movement given the lid toward closing the same. A slight pull upon the lid, together with its momentum and weight, will be sufficient to overcome the tensile strength of the spring, and the cover will close,with very little, if any,

more labor than was required to raise it. By

this arrangement it will be seen we avoid the necessity of employing catches to retain the cover closed, whereby the cost of the couch is reduced and the necessity of operating such catches omitted.

Numerous modifications of our invention will readily suggest themselves, all of which we consider within the scope of our present invention and unnecessary to elaborate upon. One simple modification we have, however, thought best to suggest, special reference being had to Figs. at and 5. In this modified construction a wear plate or track 13 is applied to the under side of the lid or cover 2, one being located at each end of the same. Below these wear-plates we intermediately pivot, as at 14, opposite levers 15, the upper ends of which are provided with loose rollers 16, designed to move over the tracks 13. Screweyes 17 are secured to the front wall of the box 1 substantially in line with the lower ends of the levers 15 and their fulcra 14:. Between these screw-eyes and the lower ends of the levers coil-springs 18 are located.

The operation is similar to that heretofore described in that the springs are preferably located in such relation to the levers as to exert their pull substantially in line with the same when the lid or cover is closed, and the weight of the latter is sufficient to overcome the thus imperfectly-exerted tension of the springs and thereby remain closed. By giving the lid or cover an initial start the springs begin to act as before.

If preferred, each of the wear-tracks l or 13 that we have described may be provided at a suitable point with a curved stop-shoulder 19, over and against which the roller rides and rests when the lid is raised to its fullest extent. By providing this stop-shoulder the lid is secured in its elevated position. slight pull, however, will cause the roller to ride over the shoulder when the lid or cover is in the act of descending.

Various changes in the details of our invention may suggest themselves, all of which we include as of our invention, and we therefore do not limit ourselves to the exact mechanisms shown.

Having described our invention, what we claim is- 1. The combination with a box-conch comprising the lower receptacle portion and a lid or cover hinged thereto, of a lever fulcrumed within the couch on one of the parts and having one of its ends adapted to ride over the other part and a spring connected to the lever at one side of its fulcrum and to the couch, and so arranged with relation to the lever as to lie substantially in line therewith and therefore inactive when the lid is lowered and to operate said lever so as to cause its free end to raise the lid subsequent to an initial or partial raising of the lid, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with the boX and lid portions of the couch, the two being hinged together at their back meeting edges, of weartracks secured to the inner surfaces of the end walls of the box, posts depending from the cover, levers pivoted to the posts, rollers on the free ends of the levers and bearing on the tracks and coiled springs connected to the free ends of the levers and to a wall of the couch and disposed in substantial alinement with said levers, substantially as specified.

3. In a box-couch, the combination with the box portion and its cover hinged thereto, of a lever fulcrumed between the same and adapted to force the cover open, a spring for actuating the lever, a track on which the free end of said lever travels, and a stop-shoulder arranged in the path of said free end of the lever over and with which said lever is adapted to ride and engage, substantially as specified.

4. In a box-couch, the combination with the box and lid portions, the two being hinged together at their back meeting edges, of weartracks secured to the inner surfaces of the end walls of the box, levers pivotally connected at their upper ends to the cover or lid portion, rollers on the lower or free ends of the levers, springs connected to said free ends and to the back wall of the couch and raised portions forming stop-shoulders in said weartracks over and with which said rollers are adapted to ride and engage, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

HARRISON S. MARTIN. JOHN W. HOUOHENS. \Vitnesses:

W. S. DUVALL, O. F. DUVALL.

ICC 

